As Christians we need to constantly remember that
everything we do and say (and write) should be done
with the aim of glorifying our Lord. We are to be
God-pleasers and not people-pleasers. Yet each of us,
whether in business, industry, or academia are under
pressure, not only to produce, but to "excel." Such
achievement is to be for the glory and reputation of our
company or our institution, and all too often this
further degenerates into cut-throat competition to excel
for our own glorification. Richard Bube discusses this
crucial, contemporary phenomenon and gives us some
guidelines for developing a more Christian response to
11
achieving excellence."

The mind-boggling complexity of our world as
revealed in quantum theory and the interaction of
chance and deterministic mechanisms has stimulated
numerous reevaluations of the meaning of life and why
this universe exists. John Templeton and Robert Herrmann discuss some of the contributions from this area
of scientific endeavor that help us understand meaning
and purpose in the universe. In relation to evolution,
these authors discuss the "interplay of apparent randomness and determinism in the processes which
appear to have led to the emergence of living things."

To a considerable degree, the impact of quantum
theory in physics and astronomy is matched in the life
sciences by E.O. Wilson's "sociobiology." Paul and
Mary Ellen Rothrock evaluate the theological implications, both positive and negative, of this significant
approach to the evolutionary myth of scientific materialism. The Rothrocks help us to see that, as with other
false religions, sociobiology has insights that "might
complement the Christian understanding of human
nature and society."

We don't need to watch many TV documentaries
and news broadcasts to be impressed and often disturbed by the manner in which the media tend to
handle religious organizations. (Indeed, some of the
response to ASA's "Teaching Science in a Climate of
Controversy" demonstrates how easy it is to distort and
to misrepresent the true intent of any organization.)
VOLUME 39, NUMBER 2, JUNE 1987

Jerry Bergman discusses some of the sociological principles of organizations in general, and religious organizations in particular.

We also have some thought-provoking Communications in this issue. Michael Bozack, who (in the March
issue) gave us a significant analysis of the implications
of the thermodynamic triple point to our understanding of the trinity, gives another intriguing approach to
the trinity on the basis of the conjugate properties of
matter. Donald Adolphson argues in favor of nuclear
weapons as a means ordained by God to preserve world
peace, in much the same manner as the Pax Romana
was part of God's plan for the Incarnation. Raymond
Seeger gives us another of his mini-biographies with a
summary of the life of Nicholaus Copernicus.

We have changed the name of our journal, primarily
to indicate more specifically our major purpose: we are
not merely an inhouse publication of an organization,
but are a vehicle for the discussion of the many aspects
of science as they relate to Christian faith. We need to
reaffirm that, as evangelical Christians, we are committed to Jesus Christ as the Son of God and the Redeemer
of mankind, as well as to the Scripture as our only
infallible rule of faith and practice. Within that framework, there are Dow, and there have been throughout
the history of the Christian church, differing views and
traditions. In the ASA we encompass a spectrum of
perspectives on creation and evolution, church and
state, war and peace, ArminiaDism and Calvinism, and
certainly on the highly controversial, recent issues of
the ethics of the biotechnological manipulation of the
world around us, including animal and human life. If
you disagree with the position taken by any of our
contributors we encourage you to write: a regular
paper, a communication, or a letter. We can't publish
everything we receive, but our major guidelines are for
clear and concise writing in a spirit of respect and
gentleness. We may not always achieve this goal, but
that is the end towards which we strive.
WLB